An example of a bearing roller of this kind is known from WO 2016/016054. A device for detecting a radial load acting on the roller is disclosed. The device comprises a load cell that spans the roller bore diameter and is in fixed contact with diametrically opposite portions of the bore surface. When the roller is radially loaded, the circular cross section of the hollow bore is deformed to an elliptical shape. Under load, the load plane remains the same, but the contact locations of the load cell rotate within this plane during rotation of the roller. As a result, the contact locations not only experience radial displacement relative to each other, but also a transverse displacement. This effect is sometimes referred to as a chewing effect. The load cell comprises a bending beam and a hinge arrangement and is designed such that the contact locations move with the bore surfaces, via elastic deformation of the load cell, to take up the motion associated with the chewing effect.
The disclosed device is configured to calculate the radial load on the bearing roller under rotational conditions.
There is still room for improvement in terms of a defining a roller with integrated load sensing device that can also determine the radial load on the roller under static conditions.